Apple Takes 30% Cut from Every MS Office Subscription

Under the existing agreement, Apple gets a commission for every in-app purchase

The 70%-30% ratio by which app revenues are split between developers and Apple doesn’t just apply to small-time application sellers, but also to hot shot companies that sell their software through iTunes, such as Microsoft, as of late.

An Apple representative has confirmed to Re/code that the Cupertino company is indeed taking its usual 30% cut from every Office 365 subscription purchased by iPad owners looking to unlock editing features in Work, Excel, and/or PowerPoint. The 30% commission is for App Store maintenance and such.

The news is certainly heartwarming considering how the two companies couldn’t reach an agreement when Microsoft wanted to offer in-app purchases for SkyDrive storage without giving Apple the 30% cut. However, that was when Steve Ballmer was running the show.

With Satya Nadella now at Microsoft’s helm, conversations between the two companies seem to be less tense, if not friendly.

As Apple had just approved Microsoft Office for iPad in the iTunes App Store, Cook said in a tweet, “Welcome to the iPad and AppStore.” To which Nadella replied, “Thanks @tim_cook, excited to bring the magic of @Office to iPad customers.”

However, the company headquartered at 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, CA took the launch as an opportunity to mention its own iWork suite, as well as other productivity solutions that may offer much of the Office for iPad functionality at a lower cost, and sometimes even for free.

“We’re excited that Office is coming to iPad — now part of the more than 500,000 apps designed specifically for iPad. iPad has defined a new category of mobile computing and productivity and transformed the way the world works. Office for iPad joins an incredible lineup of productivity apps like iWork, Evernote and Paper by FiftyThree, that users can choose from to inspire them to do more with this powerful device.”

Microsoft asks that a qualifying Office 365 subscription be purchased for $99.99/€99.99 in order to edit and create Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents, of which Apple takes roughly $30/€30 each time a customer applies for the subscription.